


Beneath the Weight

by Skyepilot



Category: Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (TV)
Genre: And then Promotions, Confessions, Coulson is fed up, F/M, Gen, Kissing, Promotions, Teamwork, Trust Issues, Unresolved Sexual Tension, Ward is evil, naturally, rebuilding SHIELD
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-06-06
Updated: 2014-06-07
Packaged: 2018-02-03 16:16:15
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 5,626
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1750820
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Skyepilot/pseuds/Skyepilot
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Skye is contacted by Miles Lydon concerning information about her past.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Distractions

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ward and Raina set a plan in motion to get to Skye.

"Maybe we've been going about this all wrong," said Raina.

They were in one of Ward's safehouses, between daily activities. 

All spare and spartan with a touch as dull as the mind of its owner, she thought. 

She was used to moving around every few months or so now. 

They'd become quite efficiently mobile. 

It was unfortunate, though, since a permanent facility would allow for uninterrupted research. But, until she found another sponsor, Ward's place would just have to do.

"What do you mean?" asked Ward.

He was doing one of his habitual routines. Mission, mission, mission, this one. Clean the weapons. Get more weapons. Get Chinese takeout. 

"We can't get to Skye if she's with *him*," Raina said. "Behind his wall."

"You mean Coulson?" he replied.

"Yes."

"Good luck getting her to come to us," said Ward, sitting on the edge of the desk, examining the barrel of a gun.

"What if we don't need her to come to us," said Raina, beginning to pace.

"What if we get Coulson to put her on the outside?"

Ward humphed and looked over at her.

"He'd never do that," he said, shaking his head in disbelief. "He thinks she farts rainbows."

"Have a think," said Raina, just a hint of impatience straining the edge of her voice. "Did they ever fight? Argue?"

"Yes, of course they argued," he said. "But, Coulson never lost his cool."

Raina sighed and headed back to her makeshift lab.

"Except," said Ward, narrowing his eyes, a memory coming to mind. "Miles Lydon," he said, looking over at Raina.

"And who's that?" Raina asked with a toss of her head.

"Ex-hacker boyfriend," said Ward, smirking.

"Rising Tide member?" he added.

"I see," said Raina, slowly making her way back towards him.

"And how do we get him to do our bidding?" she asked.

"Our bidding?" Ward grimaced. "And I thought Garrett was bad."

Raina's face fell. 

"Look," said Ward, sliding off the desk, "He's easy. We make him an offer he can't refuse."

Ward slid the magazine into the gun.

"It's finding him that might be tricky."

 

****

One of the best days of his life, watching SHIELD crumble.

Bye bye, Big Brother.

Now he was mining the data, selling off bits to the right people. 

None of that old guard were going to be looking for him. They were too busy evading the authorities.

He wondered, sometimes, about Skye.

If she'd been caught up in all that.

But, she make her choice.

Let that bureaucrat in the nice suit dump him on a tarmac in Hong Kong and just flew away.

With that handicap.

It had taken him a few days to figure out how to get others to hack for him, with that bracelet. But, it kind of made him famous and women loved to ask him about it. So, he made some money setting up a little operation in Hong Kong.

Until the authorities had caught wind and then he'd grabbed cash and headed back to the States.

The day the bracelet came off, on its own, he got on his laptop and saw the news feed and the data stream flooded.

Like a dam had broken.

And just like that, he'd started up a business front and used it to sell off the data behind the scenes. Discretely. 

Sure, he'd had NSA and CIA sniffing around a few times, but he knew how to clean up after himself.

He'd love to see the look on that aging bureaucrat's face, though.

Maybe he'd even give Skye another shot if she apologized?

He was sitting in the parking lot of the Sonic, pondering all this, waiting for his order of tater tots and a foot long to arrive. 

It was starting to get hot. Not quite blistering, though. 

This summer might be easier than last year. 

But, he'd rolled up his windows anyway and kept the AC running.

There was a tap on the window of his tinted BMW SUV.

He rolled the window down and slid the $20 bill through with his hand.

"Thanks," said the person on the other side.

He shoved over a brown bag.

"Can I keep the rest?"

"Are you kidding?" asked Miles, turning to make eye contact.

Oh. Shit.

Miles went to roll up the window, but the hand reached out, grabbed him around the neck.

"You forgot your shake," Ward said calmly. 

 

****

Skye was sitting at a desk in an office in the Playground. 

It was her office, which was kind of cool. 

She was rebuilding SHIELD's database, which was kind of not.

Useful? Yes. Interesting? No.

The joys of bureaucracy.

She was reaching her limit and needed a break.

Opening her personal laptop, she looked through her usual rabble of conspiracy message boards and blogs.

Looking for something interesting, something that could maybe get them out of the base for a few days and test them out in the field again.

The one the Rising Tide frequented. Newish, right after SHIELD fell. THEYALLFALLDOWN. 

Cute.

They'd gotten really bold since it all went down in flames.

Her eye scanned the top few entries. She tried a few keywords. Stuff about HYDRA.

One read: bunnybitbit says: bunnybitbit hops to the beat of his own drum. And down the hatch we go.

Skye froze.

Bunnybitbit was a joke she and Miles had used. 

He had won her a stuffed bunny, once, at a horrible carnie in town. The kind where the rides break when you look at them. It was awful and pink with huge plastic eyes.

They'd had a few beers and Miles was being cute, taking the rabbit and making it give fascistic pronouncements, suggesting it was their new leader.

"Bunnybitbit," he had said. "Hops to the beat of his own drum." 

Skye knew that had been a reference to her and how even though they were together, she always had one eye towards the door. 

She had taken the bunny from him, and pretended to make it drink her beer. "And down the hatch we go."

It took her just a few moments to set up a fake account and she logged in, clicking reply.

What would she say to him, anyway?

Why had he contacted her like this?

Okay, technically she didn't exist anymore. Maybe he was just concerned? 

It was obvious his bracelet was off since no more SHIELD.

She jumped a little as May entered the room and walked towards her.

Of course May had noticed her reaction, but May kept quiet as always.

Hey," Skye said, closing her laptop. "What's up?"

"Coulson just wanted me to stop in," said May, looking at the monitor. "See if you needed a break, wanted to get a coffee or something."

Skye nodded slowly.

"Alright."

"Everything okay?" May said, when they were out in the hall.

"Yeah, just ready to see the sun again," she said, motioning to the revolving window. "Not the...fake sun."

"I think the team is getting a little antsy," May agreed. "Might be a good time to put some field work in."

 

****

 

"She's contacted me," said Miles, breathing again, staring back at his computer. 

"Good."

Miles' bruised face looked up, flinched a little when Ward took his hand off the back of the chair.

His eyes darted to Raina, who was just staring at him blankly, something definitely off about her.

"Tell her you have some information for her. Something she'll want to see," Ward added.

"Do I?" asked Miles, looking back at Raina. "Have information?"

"Yes," said Raina. "Of course."

He began typing.

"She wants to know how I got it," he said.

"Make something up," said Ward, impatiently.

"That won't work," said Miles with frustration.

"No," said Raina, walking over to him.

"Tell her that after what happened in Hong Kong, you were angry. But, that she was right, and that you've been hunting me down. You wanted payback."

Miles nodded.

"But, you never expected to find out things about her. Tell her that you wanted to just leave her alone. But, now, you don't think you can."

Ward raised his eyebrows, impressed.

"It wouldn't be right," Raina finished.

"Is all of that true?" asked Miles, slowly.

"Tell her what a gentleman I am," said Ward threatening, leaning over Miles again.

"Ward," said Raina, just almost raising her voice.

"If you're useful," Ward said, "Maybe we'll even ask you to join our team. We have a great incentives program."

"Who do you guys work for again?" Miles asked.

"We're independent contractors, like you," said Raina.

"The truth is, despite his obvious charms, Agent Ward here is very effective," she said, putting her hand on Ward's shoulder.

Ward smirked over at Miles.

"And Skye is in danger," she continued. "Coulson refuses to understand what he is dealing with. He has enough problems of his own," she added cryptically, exchanging a knowing look with Ward.

"Coulson," Miles said, turned the name over in his mind. "Is that the old guy in the suit?"

"Yes," Ward replied.

"I hate that guy."

"Me too," agreed Ward.

"We are all here, for Skye," Raina said sweetly. 

"Yeah," said Miles. "But, what's in it for me?"

 

****

 

Miles seemed off. 

Scared. 

Was it something else, or was it the nature of the information he had?

What she already knew wasn't encouraging her thoughts along. That an entire village and a SHIELD team had died protecting her.

He seemed to know more. Or was it just an excuse to see her again?

No, Miles would hold a grudge for a long time if you turned on him like that.

It had to be something more serious.

Either he'd gotten himself into trouble, or he had some very disturbing information.

If he'd been looking into Raina, it could be trouble and he was stuck.

It occurred to her that after their last parting, she hadn't thought of him since.

Too busy with missions and the buildup to SHIELD falling apart and that aftermath. 

They'd had finally had a breather, which was being buried in the Playground for a week. 

Beneath the weight of rebuilding SHIELD.

And Coulson hadn't shared much. He'd been acting strange. Like a robot again.

If she met with Miles, would he trust her?

Did she want to burden him with that right now?

If she asked, he would probably say no.

May would say no for sure.

Skye looked up at the sound of the knock at her quarters' door.

She quickly finished typing and shut the laptop.

"Come on in," she said.

Coulson took a few steps in, stopped.

"Thought I'd check in," he said. "It's been a bit of a strange week."

"If by strange, you mean excruciatingly boring, then, yes."

"We haven't had much of a chance to talk," he said, motioning to the nearby chair.

She nodded.

"No, we haven't," she said, looking over at him, hesitating as he sat down.

"Hi," she said.

He looked back at her, didn't reply, but there was that familiar expression on his face. 

"So," she said, breaking eye contact, looking at the floor. "I've been in contact with Miles Lydon."

"Excuse me?" said Coulson. Just a hint of edge to his voice, but, enough that she noticed.

"I was monitoring online chatter, and there was...a message from him. To me."

Coulson's brow was furrowed. He was searching her eyes.

"What does he want?" Coulson asked, all business.

"He wants to meet with me."

"Out of the question," said Coulson quickly, sharply.

She looked over at him, frowning. 

"He said he has information about where I come from."

"Bad idea, Skye," he said, getting up. "I need you here right now." 

"I know," she said, "that we're low on resources..." 

"I can't afford to spare you," he paused. "Or lose you."

"And because we're low on resources, this might be my only chance to get more information."

"No," he said.

"It's not up to you!" she raised her voice.

He turned over at her, a deep frown cutting into his face.

"You are in command," she said. "But it doesn't mean you get to make *my* decisions," she pointed at herself.

He looked away and stood, heading for the door.

"I know how important this is to you," he said. "But I warned you once, you might not like what you find."

"I thought we were past this," she said. "Are you trying to help me find out the truth, or are you avoiding it, because you're afraid of what you'll find?"

"Did Miles say what he knew?" Coulson asked, over his shoulder.

"He said that it was something inside of me."


	2. Decisions

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Coulson and team catch up with Raina and Ward

"How many times are we going to have to learn the same lesson?" asked May. 

"I can't believe I'm going to say this," she rolled her eyes. "You need your pieces to solve the puzzle. You need the team on this."

"I can't believe you're quoting Skye," said Coulson, shaking his head and tucking away a pistol in his vest.

"I need you here, rebuilding SHIELD. If I don't make it back."

He had a series of sidearms and weapons laid out on the desk.

"That's not my job, Phil," she said.

"What?" he replied, the edges of his voice harsh. "You told Fury you had my back."

"And I do have your back," she said. "But Assistant Director is not my job."

Coulson clenched his jaw, stared at the floor, breathed out.

"We both know whose job that is," May added. "You need her. And we need to get her back. Both of you back."

Koenig knocked on the open door with his knuckle.

"Come in," Coulson said.

He walked over and handed Coulson a flash drive. "She left this," he said.

"What's on it?"

"All of her correspondence with Miles Lydon," said Koenig.

"Anything useful?" asked Coulson.

"Possibly," Koenig said, looking back at Coulson glaring back at him. "A really strong maybe?"

Coulson pursed his lips, sighed.

"May, get the team together. We have a mission."

 

****

"Coffee shop," he said, his hands in the pockets of his trenchcoat, looking at the building in front of them.

"We used to spend a lot of time in coffee shops."

He extended his hand. She took it for a moment, shook it, let go. Shrugged at him.

"Let's cut to the chase, Miles," Skye said.

"Can we walk?" he looked around.

"Yeah."

They continued down the street. It had finished raining, but the roads were slick and shiny, the beginnings of the sunset reflected in them.

"What were you thinking?" she asked. "Chasing Raina?"

"Just wanted to get something back for myself," said Miles. "You're not even a little impressed?"

"She is a very dangerous person, Miles. When this is done, you need to disappear for awhile."

"So you were worried about me?" he asked.

"Of course!" Skye said.

"And also, I have something you want," he said.

"That, too," said Skye.

"You've been looking all your life," he said. "When you find it, do you think you'll stop searching?"

She knew what he was asking. What he had always wanted to know. If she'd ever settle down.

"No," she said. "I don't think I ever will," she smiled at him a little.

"We had a nice thing," he said sadly, stopping in the street. "I wish it could've stayed that way."

Skye felt her head go dizzy. "What?"

"Sorry," he said. "Raina is really clever. Skin to skin transfer. Sedative. Don't worry, it won't hurt you."

"Miles," she stumbled towards him, trying to keep herself standing.

"It's for the best, Skye," she heard him say as she passed out.

 

****

 

Skye woke on a cold metal slab, restraints on her arm.

She winced at the bright light overhead shining down into her eyes.

Tried to sit up, but the arm restrains were too tight.

"Skye," she heard from above. "It's so nice to see you again."

It was Raina's voice.

"What are you going to do, experiment on me?" she said. "Like you did Coulson?"

"Coulson wanted under the machine," Raina said, coming into view.

"Yeah, when I found him he was begging to die, sounds like you knew exactly what you were doing," she seethed.

"He was just remembering," said Raina. "What Director Fury did to him."

Skye swallowed. Couldn't think of something to say.

"He never told you?" Raina said sadly.

Skye felt something tighten in her chest. 

"Don't worry," said Raina, "We're just going to take some of your blood."

Skye heard shuffling noises in the dark around her.

"How did you convince Miles?" 

"I didn't have to convince him at all," said Raina.

"She left that to me," said Ward, smiling, leaning over her.

Skye looked Ward in the eyes.

"You got your voice back," she mocked. "Ouch, crushed esophagus, sounds painful."

Ward smirked. "Remember that time when you told me you'd never give me what I wanted?"

She turned her face away from him.

"So you work for HYDRA," she said to Raina.

"Oh, no, how dreadful," said Raina. "I work towards evolution.

Ward just gave a disgusted laugh and walked away from the table.

"You're just taking some of her blood?" Miles asked him as he came near the desk.

"Why, you don't have the stomach for anything else?"

"Skye is more useful to us alive," Raina said walking up to Miles.

"I'd like to just get what we agreed to and go," Miles said. "If you don't mind."

He turned the computer towards them, the wire transfer at the ready.

Raina looked over at Ward. Nodded.

"You sure you don't want in on our incentives program?" Ward asked.

"We could use your talents," Raina said, admiringly.

 

****

"Guys, we have incoming!" Koenig shoved the tablet towards Coulson.

It was the message board thread. A new post. With coordinates.

"Skye," Coulson said.

"Wheels up in ten," said May. "I'll let the others know."

"Koenig," let us know if you get any updates while we're in the air. He handed him the phone. "Secure line only."

"Got it!" said Koenig.

"Good luck, sir. I hope she's okay."

Coulson nodded and headed to the hangar.

When they were in the air they all gathered around the holotable. 

"Raina," Coulson said.

"That means CENTIPEDE soldiers," said Trip.

"They could have upgrades," warned Simmons. "Raina has shown she is constantly experimenting."

"Up the dosage on the Nite-Nites," Coulson said. "If it's lethal, so be it."

Simmons looked over at Trip, who didn't even blink.

May walked in having set the plane on autopilot.

"They lured Skye out with information about her past," she said. "And Miles Lydon is involved."

"Who?" asked Trip.

"Ex-boyfriend, fellow hacker," said Coulson. Right then it dawned on him. May noticed the change in his expression.

"Could that mean Ward?" asked Simmons, looking over at May then Coulson.

"Possibly," May said.

Coulson shut his eyes. Dammit. He'd let this whole thing distract him.

"The messages from Lydon said he was following Raina's trail," Coulson said, thinking it through.

"Ward was after Skye when you took Garrett out," May said.

"And Raina was using both of your blood for her experiments," Simmons added.

"That sounds convenient," Trip chimed in.

Coulson was leaning over the table staring at its top, but not seeing it.

May nodded to Trip and Simmons.

"I'll get the Nite-Nite cartridges ready," said Simmons walking off. "Trip?"

He looked back over at Coulson then headed towards the lab.

"Phil," said May. "It's Ward. It was someone who knew about Lydon, about what happened."

"I know," Coulson agreed. "I fell for it," he said. "It was meant to get her out of the Playground, I see that now."

May put her hand on his arm. "Is there something you need to tell me?"

He looked up at her.

"I kept her in the dark. I should've told her about my involvement in TAHITI. About her parents being monsters. About the wall in the storage room. And I let the guilt weigh me down and she walked. She knew I was holding back."

"Why?" asked May. "The two of you were already keeping secrets from the team."

Coulson shot a look over at her.

"Well, you were," she said, confronting. "Why didn't you just tell her?"

"I don't know," he replied.

****

 

"Besides him being a loser and a Nazi, which is like, a loser nexus, what makes Ward useful to you?"

Skye asked the question drowsily, turning to look over at Raina.

Raina was studying a readout of her bloodwork, monitoring her vitals as she took more.

"You should save your energy," Raina replied.

"You are, like, a person of color and you are working with HYDRA," Skye said.

Raina sighed. Oh, not this again.

"I am not working with HYDRA, I am just working with Ward. The arrangement was never with HYDRA it was with the Clairvoyant, I knew nothing about HYDRA."

"What do you know about my parents?"

"It's a story, I will tell it to you if you're very still," Raina replied.

"Gotcha," Skye said, slurring.

"Once, there was a little girl in a village. And one day, her parents came to look for her. And they were very, very inhuman."

"Sounds lovely," Skye managed.

"But, sometimes people don't see the true beauty inside," said Raina. "And they call people names, like monsters."

"I'm a monster," Skye said, closing her eyes.

"The beautiful mommy and the beautiful daddy just wanted their sweet baby girl back."

Ward walked over just as Skye passed out on the table.

"Coulson's here, with his team," he said in mission mode.

"How?" said Raina, shocked.

"Lydon," Ward said. "Get your stuff together, and get out of here. I'll send you coordinates for the next safehouse."

Raina nodded as Ward left in a rush.

Lydon. Well, hopefully Ward would see to that.

She began packing up the blood samples and downloading data.

"Hello, Raina."

Raina turned around and blinked back at Coulson. 

His eyes caught Skye on the table. His gun was pointed at Raina as he walked calmly towards her.

"Impressive. You got past Ward, and my soldiers," she was sizing him up.

Coulson moved to Skye, checked her breathing and her pulse.

"What I want to know, is why you want Skye," said Coulson.

"Are you in love with that girl?" asked Raina, coyly.

"What?" Coulson asked.

"Garrett. He taunted you about her. Blamed all of what happened to her on you."

"Of course I am," he said back to her, not missing a beat. "Stop wasting my time."

Raina brightened. 

"Do you know what she has inside of her?" she asked.

"Just so we're clear," he said. "I don't care. I've seen monsters. She's not one."

"Aren't you even a bit curious?" she pleaded.

"Raina, we're a little short on containment facilities right now," he warned. "So, don't make me shoot you," he said plainly. "Because, I will. And I won't feel bad about it."

She actually looked a little surprised.


	3. Direction

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Where we get to what the story was really all about. :)

Ward stalked into the room and pointed his gun at Miles' head.

Miles barely had time to get his hands up much less say a word before Ward fired.

He hit the ground.

With a man on top of him.

"Who are you?" asked Miles.

"SHIELD," said the guy. "Just give me a sec."

He pulled the gun out of his belt and got up off the ground.

"Stay down," he said.

"Trip!" he heard Ward yell into the room. "You still playing hero?"

"Until the day I die," said Trip, ducking out from behind a pillar and taking a shot at Ward.

"You still playing secret Nazi?" Trip shot back.

Ward ducked for cover and set his eyes on the panel across the way, smiled to himself.

Time to blow this joint.

Miles began crawling on the ground towards the door.

He stopped when he saw a pair of feet and looked up.

"Hi," he said weakly, waving at May.

"Get up," she ordered.

She looked angry and like she'd been busy.

Miles pulled himself off the floor and slid past her towards the doorframe.

"You're letting me go?" he asked her.

"For now," she said with a warning, and headed towards the gunfire.

 

****

 

"You're going to have to choose," Raina said. "Skye or me."

She had just told Coulson that the whole place was rigged to explode. Which, sounded about right. What's the use of a safehouse if it's been compromised?

Coulson lowered his gun and ran to the table and began removing the wrist restraints as a second explosion shook the building.

He put the gun in his vest and gathered Skye up in his arms.

Raina swooped up the case with all the blood samples and turned back over her shoulder to look at Coulson holding Skye.

She smiled at him. A good man. She wasn't used to those.

Then she walked out the door.

Coulson turned into the corridor and saw Ward emerge from a door at the far end.

Ward stopped raised his hand, pointed the gun in it at Coulson.

He was dead in his sights. Coulson just stared back at Ward, clenched his jaw.

"You ever think about dying twice?" Ward asked, smiling. "What it means?" 

Then he reflexed as a bullet hit the wall and the series of shots had him on the run.

May and Trip emerged from the door, turned to see Coulson.

"Sir?" asked Trip. 

He wasn't sure if he was asking about Skye or about himself. Coulson let a breath out.

"Let's get out of here," May said.

 

****

 

Skye woke in a cool room with low lights. The crisp smell of clean sheets. 

Maybe that whole thing with Miles, Raina and Ward was just a dream?

She sat up and let her eyes adjust to the light.

"You're awake."

Coulson. He was here, too. Definitely a dream.

She saw the dark outline of him come into focus. He was sitting nearby.

"Where am I?" she asked.

"On the Bus. In my room."

"Yeah?" she replied.

"I thought it would be more restful," he explained. "Away from the others."

Skye raised her eyebrows.

"Miles is alive," he added. "In case you were wondering." 

So, this wasn't a dream. This was even better.

"You came after me?" she asked, tenderly.

"The team did," he said. 

She closed her eyes.

"How did you find me? Was it the flash drive I left?" she started.

"In the end, Miles tipped us off," he interjected. 

Skye tried to stand, felt dizzy.

"Hey," he said, getting up to steady her. "Raina took a lot of blood."

Skye nodded gently.

"I screwed up."

"Me, too," she said. "They just wanted to draw me out."

"I should've seen it coming," he said. "Should've known it was Ward."

"Let's take turns blaming ourselves," Skye said, smirking. "We can go all night."

Coulson made a face, then recovered and sat down on the edge of the bed, eased her down next to him.

"Did you learn anything?" he asked.

"Raina said my parents were monsters," she replied, looking down at her hands.

Coulson didn't say anything back, she just heard him sigh. Like he was mulling it over.

"That doesn't surprise you?" she asked, when he continued in silence.

He swallowed, turned towards her. "Not exactly."

Skye's mouth dropped open. "You mean, you knew?"

"Yes," he said.

"Why didn't you tell me?" she asked, alarmed.

"About your parents?" he asked. "I should have. I'm sorry. I thought I could get more intel, clarity. Who wants to tell someone that they..." he stopped himself. "That they're a monster?"

"What else are you holding back?" she demanded. 

"When we get to the Playground, I'll show you," he said. "About me. That's everything I know about you."

"Just tell me now," she said, exhausted. "I'm tired of this...waiting."

"No. I, literally, have to show you," he said.

"You let Miles go?" she asked, moving on from this...whatever this was, for now.

"Yeah," he said, "He did ask for a ride again."

"Did you give it to him?" she asked.

"No way," said Coulson. She could tell he was smiling.

"I think he's still mad at me," she said.

"He felt bad about what he did." 

"I think he was just angry you joined up with SHIELD."

 

****

They got back to the Playground and Koenig greeted her with a big hug.

Skye thanked the team and told them about the fact that she might be a monster and there was a bit of speculation about what that might mean. Coulson reminded all of them that people had called Mike Peterson a monster, and that he certainly was not one. Koenig had started mentioning the Hulk as well, but then stopped when May gave him a look. 

Skye was grateful for that.

When they went off one by one, she lingered with Coulson.

When they were alone, he went to the door and softly shut it. 

Then, he pulled out a flash drive and plugged it into the display.

He watched her face as she silently took in the video of his resignation for Project: TAHITI. 

It was painful.

He sat in the chair on its edge and stared down at his hands when it was done.

Skye slowly got up and stood in front of him and put her fingers under his chin.

He let her tip his face up towards her.

Her expression was very serious, but there was something soft in her eyes.

"I'm very glad you're not that person anymore," she said.

Coulson felt something release in his chest and he stood and hugged her.

It kind of surprised her. She was usually the one who gave out the hugs.

She hugged him back.

They just looked at each other for a moment. Trying to figure out where to go next. 

Coulson let go of her, then held out his hand.

She took it and he lead her to the door, opened it. They walked down the hall together.

He pushed open the door to the storage room, his brow furrowed.

Usually they had a lot to say to each other. But, maybe this way was better.

He lead her into the room, past the shelves of all the weapons they'd taken back from HYDRA, to the very back of the room.

Coulson let go of her hand and flipped a switch.

The light came on and Skye gasped when she saw the writing all over the wall.

"You did this?" she finally asked.

"Yes," Coulson replied. "Actually, it was Koenig."

"What do you mean?" she asked, running her hand over the symbols.

"He approached me and told me that he'd seen me going into this room late in the evening. That he'd investigated and found...this."

"This looks like the stuff Ward picked up from Amador's eye feed," she said.

"And this," he said, walking behind a shelf and pointing to the panel from the Bus lab as Skye followed.

"Garrett did that," said Coulson. "After he was injected with the GH-325."

"And now so are you," she said. "What do you think it means?"

"I don't remember doing any of this, Skye," he said.

"Are you worried it's going to happen to me?" she asked. "Is that why you didn't tell me?"

"I've been holding back," he said. "A lot of things, I've realized. Trying to stay in control."

Now it was her turn to stay quiet. She just looked back at him, waiting to see where he was going with this.

"I want to offer you something," he said. "I should've done it right away, but, I was distracted. Buried under the weight of all of this," he said, motioning around the room.

"Our lives aren't exactly normal," she said. "Distracted is understandable."

"This is a lot," he said. "It's more than I can handle, Skye."

"That's why you have the team," she said. "No one ever asked you to rebuild it alone."

"And I am more grateful for this team than you will ever know, but I need more than that. I need you."

Skye blinked and felt the color start to rush to her cheeks.

"Is this in an official capacity of some kind?" she asked, "Or..."

"I want you to be my partner, in rebuilding SHIELD," he said, stepping close to her.

She looked up into his face, smiled.

"I accept?" she said.

"Welcome aboard, Assistant Director," Coulson said, smiling back.

He extended his hand for her to shake, and instead she threw her arms around his neck and then kissed him on the cheek. She let her hands linger for a moment in his hair. Felt his arms slip around her waist. She closed her eyes, didn't want to let go.

He turned his face towards her, then, his lips lightly dusting her mouth.

"I don't want to hide anything from you," he confessed.

"You weren't hiding it all that well," she replied, kissing him.

Coulson kissed her back for a long minute.

He stopped and stared back at her. Looking at her like she was something new. Or maybe, like he was.

"This will complicate things," he said.

"What about Co-Director?" she asked, her eyebrow arched. "Equal footing. Fewer complications."

"I like the way you think," he said, reaching for her in a rush and kissing her madly.

 

****

That was also the day when Fitz woke up.

The team had surrounded him in the MedBay, caught him up on everything that had happened since he'd been asleep.

"So, now that you're Co-Director," he said, looking up at Skye.

"Can I have a monkey? Just a wee one."

Skye looked over at Coulson. He just shrugged at her.

She turned to Fitz.

"Yeah."


End file.
